


Worms Are for Fishing Not for Science

by Madigan_45



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 07:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15636141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madigan_45/pseuds/Madigan_45
Summary: Doppler's cure is fake news—and it's actually a vaccine, not a cure.





	Worms Are for Fishing Not for Science

Breaking news! _Historic_ news! Every media outlet in Abel City was blowing up, each one covering the same monumental story. Humans and reploids alike were gathered around their television screens, watching the live press conference with wide eyes and bated breath. Dr. Doppler, a prominent reploid scientist, had just announced the findings of his latest stint of research: using his state of the art Neuro Computer, Doppler could now create a very specific string of nanomachines with the purpose of suppressing all abnormal reploid behavior. These nanomachines would be assimilated into the reploid’s body via a sterile syringe. It was _a cure_ for the Maverick Virus. A cure!!! Any reploid who wanted the cure was invited to visit Doppler’s lab and request the procedure.

“I hate to be _that guy_ , but what he’s describing _isn’t_ a cure. Since this would be a preventative measure, the correct term is _vaccine_ ,” a rather salty, unimpressed voice pointed out.

Zero turned his head to look at the owner of said voice, raising an eyebrow. “X… of all people, of all reploids, of all _Maverick Hunters_ , I thought that _you_ would be the first one to jump for joy about this, but you’re just sitting here scowling and making sarcastic remarks. What’s your problem? Who cares whether it’s a cure or a vaccine? This is a pretty big deal either way.”

“It matters!” X insisted, rising from the couch and storming over to the television screen, switching it off. Zero was about to protest, but X had already turned back around and grabbed his arm. “Imagine for a minute that I’m a doctor,” X said. “Now I’m telling you, Zero, that I have a _vaccine_ here which will prevent you from ever going bald. Do you let me inject you?”

“X… I’m a reploid. I will never have that problem,” Zero answered.

“ _Just pretend, Zero_.”

Zero sighed. “All right, fine. Since it’s _you_ , of course I would let you inject a vaccine into me.”

“No!” X groaned. “You don’t _know_ me! I’m a stranger! I also have no evidence.”

“I think I would still trust you, stranger. After all, you have such a cute, honest face,” Zero teased.

“Haha, you see, _this_ is the kind of stuff you say that makes half of HQ think we’re _dating_.”

“What are we doing wrong that only _half_ of HQ thinks that? OW!”

X squeezed Zero’s synthetic skin between his fingertips. “There. I injected the vaccine into you.”

“Right… So now I won’t go bald.” Zero figured he’d better humor X a little bit. That pinch on his arm felt unnecessarily harsh.

X tsked him. “Actually, say goodbye to your lovely blond hair, because you go bald within a week.”

“What the hell, X??” Zero cried. “What a rip off! Your stupid vaccine didn’t work at all!”

X rubbed at the space between his eyes. “Well, I didn’t give you a _vaccine_. I gave you a disease that eats all of the hair right off your head.”

“Why would you do that??” Zero huffed.

“Because I’m an ass? Look, don’t you get it?” X shook Zero’s arm. “Just replace _me_ with Doppler, and this shady claim that he can prevent you from going Maverick!”

“X, you’re really going out of your way just to explain that you don’t trust Doppler,” Zero pointed out. “You could have just _said_ that.”

X fell silent, probably because Zero was right and now he was embarrassed. Oops. He let Zero’s arm go and he circled around to exit the room. “I’m going to make an announcement that no Hunter operating in this building is to accept that vaccine from Doppler, and anyone who does will forfeit his job.”

“Oh X, I love it when you boss us all around like that,” Zero cooed.

X didn’t bother with a retort and he simply walked out, and that’s when Zero realized that his friend wasn’t playing around. This all seemed _very_ over the top paranoid on X’s part… Although to be honest, Zero knew X well enough to trust his instincts by now, and X’s reaction to Doppler certainly raised some red flags. X was typically so trusting of everyone, even when he shouldn’t be, so this supreme hostility for the doctor had to mean something.

“A cure—er— _vaccine_ to stop you from going Maverick, huh…?” Zero muttered. Maybe it _did_ sound too good to be true, and besides, a life without Mavericks? Goodness, what would Zero do with all of his time? He wasn’t like X. X could easily transition into any other role in society that he wanted, but Zero was a combat reploid, not good for much else… Would he become obsolete?

Deep down, Zero kind of wanted X to be right, that Doppler was peddling lies instead of hope.

~*~

The Hunters working at HQ didn’t quite know what to make of X’s announcement. Most were baffled by his reaction to the press conference, assuming he would have been more positive about it, and others were simply relieved that they weren’t being _forced_ to accept Doppler’s vaccine. A vocal minority kicked up a fuss, accusing X of risking more Maverick outbreaks due to his supposed “distrust” of modern technology. An old, outdated robot like X _just didn’t get it_. X held firm though, explaining that while he personally could not stop anyone on base from getting the vaccine, he was under no obligation to continue to employ a reploid who disobeyed the Commander's orders. Any Hunter choosing to receive Doppler’s vaccine could hand X a resignation form and walk out. With all that said, it was disappointing to X that a member of his own 17 th Elite Unit, a purple humanoid named Mac, would be the one to fight him over his decision. Maybe you just shouldn’t trust purple reploids…

“You’re being unreasonable!” Mac yelled, shoving his finger right into X’s face. His own subordinate challenging him bothered X, but he was even more frustrated by the scene Mac was causing, and the unwanted attention they were receiving. “Dr. Doppler’s cure will lead us into a new era! A utopia for reploids and humans alike! A golden age! Is this _not_ what we’ve been fighting for, X?”

X frowned. Why did no one seem to understand the difference between a cure and a vaccine? “You’re calling _me_ unreasonable, and yet you’re the one standing here in hysterics acting as if I just insulted your _cult_? First of all, what proof do you have besides Doppler’s word that this _vaccine_ even works?” When Mac had no answer, X continued on. “Even if this vaccine _does_ work, which I am highly skeptical of, who’s to decide what kind of behavior in a reploid is considered _abnormal_? Doppler himself? What if he considers you not obeying his every command to be _abnormal_?”

“Those are completely hyperbolic conclusions, X!” Mac threw up his hands in frustration. “Why can’t you just accept Dr. Doppler’s offer for what it is? A genuine attempt to _end_ all of this dissension we’ve been going through!”

“ _Because_!” X snapped suddenly. “When I took this position as Commander of the Maverick Hunters, I voided my privilege of being naïve. I voided my privilege of just accepting any nice sounding bullshit that comes out of some quack doctor’s mouth, simply because _I want it_ to be true! The safety of my fellow Hunters matters _so much more_ to me. Do you honestly think that I wouldn’t end all of this fighting _right now_ if I had the power? Of course I would! But deep down, my instincts are telling me that this vaccine _isn’t_ safe. Any Hunter who lacks confidence in my judgement shouldn’t be here, risking his life under a Commander he doesn’t trust. Do you understand?” X raised his arm, his finger extended towards the HQ doors. “You’re dismissed, and anyone here who agrees with Mac is free to leave with him.”

Nobody moved, not even Mac, who just stood in place with a dumbfounded expression, speechless at X for telling him to _get out_. No, no, no… This wasn’t how it was meant to happen. X was supposed to be on board. X was supposed to be _begging_ for this cure! He was supposed to be pushing other reploids _for_ it, not _against_ it! This wasn’t going according to the plan at all! Mac then made the mistake of reaching out and grabbing X’s arm guard. “If you won’t see things our way—”

X wasn’t able to wade through armies of Mechaniloids, destroy former A-Rank Hunters turned Maverick, and go up against Sigma because he was a _bad fighter_ , and silly Mac quickly found that out the hard way. X’s hand withdrew into the barrel of his buster and he clipped Mac with a blow underneath the chin, knocking the purple reploid off balance. Mac was dazed, and he didn’t have the time to get his bearings before he was struck again, this time on the side of his head courtesy of X’s boot, sending Mac sprawling to the floor. X leveled his buster at the fallen reploid, and it hummed with a warning. “ _You are dismissed_ ,” X repeated.

The other Hunters witnessing the altercation were stunned, especially Zero, but he was the first one to step up to X’s side in support. Whatever Mac’s intentions had been in that moment when he grabbed X, Zero wasn’t having it—X wasn’t just his Commander, but his best friend. No one touched Zero’s best friend. “I think you’d better listen to him and leave,” Zero warned, his voice promising worlds of hurt to Mac if he got up and tried something again. More and more Hunters joined around X and Zero in unity, some of the brasher ones yelling at Mac to hurry and get out.

Mac touched his face to feel for any damage, and his eyes burned with a cold hatred for X beneath his visor. He made no more attempts to come closer, but he did hiss out a promise before exiting the base. “I’ll make you suffer for this, X…”

A couple Hunters taunted Mac as he left, telling him to bring it on if he had the nerve, and that he’d better find an army!

Three months later, Hunter HQ fell under attack from Doppler’s Army. Crap.

~*~

“Go ahead and struggle as much as you want, X… after all, I heard it through the grapevine that you kind of _like it_ when people are rough with you, and I’m more than happy to accommodate your needs if necessary.”

“Depends… on… the person…” X decided not to continue with that thought. It was a struggle to speak anyway, and Mac’s stupid sneering face wasn’t worth it. Hangerters were such a nuisance. Not only did they dangle you up in the air by your wrists like a damsel in distress, but they also sent an electromagnetic pulse down your body, making even the smallest movement a painful affair, essentially paralyzing you. Sure, it was X’s own fault for getting careless in his rush to clear HQ of the intruders, allowing Mac to spring his trap in the first place, but still… Why did purple Mavericks seem to enjoy restraining him so much?

Mac circled around his prisoner with a cocky sort of swagger. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even bother bringing you over to the doctor’s side. I think it would be best just to kill you.” Mac stopped in front of X and jabbed a finger into his chest plate. “But he gave me _very_ strict orders to bring you back alive. Guess that makes you feel special, huh? I suppose you’ll make a fine addition to our forces in any case. Hah! Are you excited, X? Who do you think we should have you hunt down first? Some humans, perhaps? Your precious own 17 th Unit? Or maybe _you know who_...” Mac chortled in pure, carnal delight at the thought. “Are you ready to take the doctor’s cure, X?”

“It’s… vaccine…” X gasped out.

Mac was silent for several long seconds before he huffed in extreme irritation. Eventually he just shoved a small glass vial about five inches long at X’s face. It looked as if there was something alive squirming around inside of it. “See my friend here? This worm? Once I release it, it’s going to bore itself inside of your body, and trust me, you’ll be in pain. But oh, after that, it just gets _so much_ worse for you. The worm will crawl around underneath your synthetic flesh, beginning to consume all of those important wires, circuits, and mechanisms that make you tick, feasting on your very programming from within. Eventually it will gorge itself on your central core, bloated and writhing about inside whatever pathetic, empty husk of you is left, and you’ll stay that way until the doctor finally puts you out of your misery by removing the worm from your body and extracting all of the data it gathered on you.”

X managed to pull a disgusted face despite his immobility. Sounded absolutely horrific. It was sickening to imagine all of those poor reploids who had gone to Doppler with the expectation that he was going to keep them safe from the Maverick Virus, only for him to inject them with that nightmare worm thing… Mac’s face stretched as he grinned wickedly, grasping forward and seizing X by the throat, squeezing tighter and tighter until X’s vision began to malfunction.

Despite all that, it was pretty impossible to miss part of the ceiling above them suddenly collapse, followed by an extremely pissed off red reploid jumping down through the newly made hole, brandishing a deadly green plasma sword in his hand.

Mac’s systems went into full panic alert. Zero. Zero. _FUCKING ZERO_. He spun around as fast as he could, mouth opening to bellow out a warning to the intruder—he would detonate the Hangerter and destroy X in the process!

It didn’t matter, because Mac was soundly split down the middle, head to pelvis from the shock wave of Zero’s Beam Saber before he could blink. Despite being rescued, X still had a look of fear in his eyes, and he struggled, trying to yell something at Zero.

“X! Are you okay?” Zero disabled the Hangerter, holding out an arm to catch his friend as X stumbled forward, but X immediately shoved Zero away and dove for the ground, ventilation labored as he clutched something between his hands. Zero knelt to his side, putting a hand on X's shoulder. “X?? What is it? Did that purple fuckbot hurt you?”

X shuddered as he slowly rose to his feet again. “Sorry, Zero… If this thing had gotten out, we would have all been in trouble.” X revealed the vial containing Doppler’s worm, and Zero recoiled away from it.

“What is _that_?” Zero asked, bristling.

“It’s Doppler’s vaccine,” X said miserably. “Mac took the time to exposit to me that it eats reploids from the inside out to collect their data.”

Zero shook his head, not wanting that thing anywhere near him. “Collect data for what exactly?”

X paused. “I… I don’t know. I guess we have to figure that out, huh?” He sighed. “If you hadn’t arrived when you did… Thanks, Zero.”

Zero’s expression softened, and he finally allowed himself to step closer to X, despite that nasty insect in his hands. “X, I’d never let anything happen to you.”

“I know…” X smiled up at his friend, although there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Are you ready to do this silly war all over again?”

“Hey.” Zero curled an arm around X, pulling the smaller reploid against him and into a hug. “This time I’m going to be right there with you, I promise. You don’t have to do this alone again, X. Now let’s _please_ go put that disgusting worm somewhere far away before I—”  

“Before you shriek like a girl?” X asked innocently.

Zero’s eye twitched. “You’re lucky that I like you so much.”


End file.
